Sydney homebuyers saving on rent by house sitting

Shinara Armitage, 30, has been house sitting for several months. Picture: Jonathan Ng

SKYROCKETING rents have encouraged a growing number of aspiring homeowners to fast track their way onto the property ladder with an unusual approach — going homeless.

The savvy house hunters have been ditching permanent homes in favour of house-sitting arrangements where they take care of other people’s pets in exchange for free accommodation.

The strategy has helped the house-sitters save up to $33,000 on annual rents by lining up one sitting job of a few weeks after another, removing the need for their own home.

Typical rent on a Sydney home is about $500-$650 per week, CoreLogic data showed.

Shinara Armitage, 30, has been employing the strategy the past three months and said she no longer pays rent, bills or food costs.

Shinara Armitage is living the dream. Picture: Jonathan Ng

This has helped her save $6000 in rental costs alone, on top of other savings, and she expects to end the year saving $24,000.

“I’m hoping to put that into a property,” she said.

Ms Armitage added that she decided to try house-sitting after returning from a five month stint in Bali. “I came back knowing I didn’t want to rent because it’s just dead money. To me doing this made more sense,” she said.

She has since looked after a range of homes across the city, locating homeowners in need of house sitters through online agencies such as Mindahome.com.au.

“Some of the places were fantastic,” she said. “The current place I’m in has water views.”

Jeannette and Luis Orbegoso with dog Buffy. Picture: Toby Zerna

Jeannette Orbegoso, 29, and husband Luis, 31, have also become permanent house-sitters after realising how much they would need to save for the house and land package they want in Western Sydney.

“It’s going to be expensive so we figured we need as much deposit as possible and renting is obviously a big cost,” Mrs Orbegoso said.

“We’d tried living with in-laws to help us save faster but this is a bit easier. We actually spend less because we don’t feel the need to go out as often to get some personal space.”

The couple will continue house-sitting for another 12 months and hope to save another $30,000 in rent, she added.

Research from Mindahome.com.au showed house sitting was becoming increasingly popular, with the site growing its user base by roughly 60 per cent per year between 2013 and 2017.

Company director Sue Coombs attributed the increase to the growth of the share economy led by services such as Airbnb and Uber.

“People have become used to staying in other people’s homes or taking rides in their cars and so they’re more comfortable getting a house-sitter who can save them paying on high pet care costs while they’re on holidays or business trips,” Ms Coombs said.

Mikaeli Loughrey, founder of house-sitting service Your Home My Home, said the lifestyle isn’t for everyone and does require work.

“You need to be willing to live in a variety of locations around Sydney that may not be your first choice of place to live,” she said.

The popularity of house-sitting to avoid rental bills has also meant securing home stays has become ultra-competitive, she added.

“You need to approach it like a job and have a strong profile to standout from the other people also trying to house sit. About 75 per cent of our house-sitters are doing it to save for a home.”

Ms Armitage said those hoping to bounce from sit to sit will typically need help from friends or family.

“You do need a place to store some of your stuff,” she said. “It also helps if you have a place you can stay in the week or so you might have between jobs.”

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